Three-dimensional analysis of bat flight paths around small wind turbines suggests no major collision risk or behavioral changes ...

• Main Authors: Hochradel, Klaus, Hartmann, Stefanie, Reers, Hendrik, Luedtke, Bruntje, Schauer-Weisshahn, Horst, Thomsen, Kai-Michael, Hoetker, Hermann, Brinkmann, Robert
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Zenodo 2022
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Mammalia; Chiroptera; Chordata; Animalia; bats; bat; Pipistrellus pipistrellus
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13449727; https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.13449727

(Uploaded by Plazi for the Bat Literature Project) Small wind turbines (SWTs) have become increasingly common in several European countries, but knowledge of their impact on wildlife, especially bats, remains relatively scarce. We applied an operational experiment at 10 SWTs in Northern Germany to determine the bat species commonly found at those SWT sites and whether the operational state of the SWT affects bat activity or behavior. During the experiment, the SWT operational state ("ON", "OFF") was altered and the flight trajectories of bats around the SWTs were documented using a specifically designed 3D camera with a high spatial resolution able to capture collisions with the structures. Several bat species were detected in the close vicinity (20 m) of the SWTs at all study sites. The bat species group "Nyctaloids" dominated bat acoustic activity at most SWTs, followed by Pipistrellus pipistrellus and P. nathusii. Only 41 of the 499 flight trajectories approached the nacelle closer than 10 m, including ...